Three French soldiers shot dead at ATM

Three French soldiers have been killed in a drive-by shooting in Montauban in
the southwest of France.

Photo: ALAMY

4:55PM GMT 15 Mar 2012

The shooting of the uniformed soldiers occurred at around 2:10 p.m. local time, on a street close to the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment base.

A locally-based official said that the perpetrator of the rive-by was riding a scooter and wearing a helmet with a visor. The rider opened fire on the soldiers while they attempted to withdraw money from an ATM.

Two of the soldiers died at the scene, while another died later in hospital.

French authorities have launched an extensive search for the gunner using a large number of police and national gendarmes, according to the official.

The shooting follows a similar incident on Sunday, when a 30-year-old soldier was shot dead by a motorcycle-rider in a residential area of Toulouse, 29 miles south of Montauban.